Humidifier



Oct. 29, 1935. R, G, osT ET AL HUMIDIFIER Filed July 3, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Oct 1935. R. G. YOST ET AL HUMIDIFIER Filed July 3, 1955 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 COLD WATER SUPPLY TEMPE RING TANK 5 7% M W M E i w m w of, 5 d 65W 1D x 0 Oct. 29, 1935. R. G. YosT ET AL HUMIDIFIER 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Filed July 3, 1933 FIG. 7.

Patented Oct. 29, 1935 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE HUMIDIFIER Missouri Application July 3, 1933, Serial No. 678,814

4 Claims.

This invention relates to humidifiers and with (Fig. 6) is illustrated the ordinary heating plant regard to certain more specific features, to humidifiers operable with the aid of heat.

This invention is an improvement upon the invention described in our United States Patent 1,837,939, dated December 22, 1931.

Among the several objects of the invention may be noted the provision of means for preventing deleterious condensation on the apparatus; the provision of a humidifier of the class described having improved flow regulating means; the provision of a humidifier of the class described having improved safety features; the provision of apparatus of this class in which undesirable fluctuations and noisy operation are reduced to a minimum, the same being self-applying and selfregulating; the provision of apparatus of this class which is quiet and positive in operation, undesirable clogging being avoided. Other objects will be in part obvious and in part pointed out hereinafter.

The invention accordingly comprises the elements and combinations of elements, features of construction, and arrangements of parts which will be exemplified in the structures hereinafter described, and the scope of the application of which will be indicated in the following claims.

In the accompanying drawings, in which is illustrated one of various possible embodiments of, the invention,

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a humidifying unit, the cover thereof being removed but indicated by dotted lines;

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the humidifying unit with the cover in place;

Fig. 3 is an enlarged, fragmentary, vertical section taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 1;

Fig. 4 is an enlarged vertical section taken on line 44 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 5 is a perspective showing a clip for holding evaporating pans;

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic layout of the system as a whole and showing a rear elevation of the said humidifying unit;

Fig. 7 is a plan view of the humidifying unit; and

Fig. 8 is an enlarged section showing certain details of the upper end of a safety tank.

Similar reference characters indicate corresponding parts throughout the several views of the drawings.

Referring now more particularly to Fig. 1, there is illustrated at numeral I a humidifying unit per se, adapted to be placed in a room or hall or the like of a dwelling or the like, At numeral 3 of said dwelling or the like and may comprise a warm air, vapor, or water system. The usual means are employed for delivering heat from the furnace 3 to the apartment, such as warm air 5 ducts, steam or water pipes. These are not illustrated because they vary with the type of heating installation. At numeral 5 is shown one of the water pipes of the domestic water supply system of said dwelling. 10

Figs. 1 to 5 and '7 detail the humidifying unit per se, the same comprising an outer, decoratively perforated and semi-circular, sheet steel shield I.

It will be understood that other types of sheets and/or perforations may be used, and possibly, the perforations may be dispensed with under certain conditions.

At present the perforations are intended to permit of circulation of humidified air from inside to outside of the device. The shield 1 is enclosed at the bottom by means of a sheet H and at the rear by means of a back wall I 3 having downwardly directed louvres 2. Below the louvres 2 is an upwardly directed baffle 4 for insuring spacing from the wall so that air may reach the louvres. It also provides a catch for any possible (although not probable) drippings from any of the ouvres 2 or the back l3.

The device is supported upon standards I5 spacing the same away from the floor level I 1. A decorative and preferably wooden, removable cover 2| is provided to close the top of the shield 1. This cover is provided with a reticulated central panel 6 for purposes to be shown. The cover 2| is provided with a beaded, overhanging edge 8.

Joining theshield l and the back I3 is a pair of partitions 23, the same having an oppositely disposed series of upwardly directed louvres 25. Between the louvres are provided suitable slits for receiving spring clips Ill, detailed more particularly in Figure 5, said clips l0 holding in place evaporating pans 27. The pans rest upon suitable struck-up portions 12 of thewalls 23. The pans 21 are readily removable in succession from the top by removing the spring clips Ill and lifting out said pans in order.

The louvres 2 cause indrawing of air over the pans of water, the air spreading laterally through the louvres 25 and forwardly through the openings 9 in shield. 'l.

An inlet pipe 29 is vertically arranged on one side within the unit I. This inlet encircles the upper edge of the wall I, as shown at numeral M in Figs. 1 and 2, the encircling portion being positioned directly beneath a drip rail l6, said drip in the apparatus itself.

rail l6 being positioned beneath the overhanging edge 8.

. As will be shown later, hot water traverses the supply pipe 29. The encircling portion |4 heats the drip rail I6 and the overhanging edge 8, thereby preventing altogether, or minimizing condensation. If perchance, any condensation does occur upon the overhanging edge 8, it will drip into the drip rail I6 where it is re-evaporated by the heat from the encircling portion M of the pipe 29. It will be understood that the drip rail |6 may be dispensed with if the reach of pipe I4 is hot enough to prevent all condensation.

The inlet pipe 29 after traversing the portion l4 leads to an outlet 8| which drains into a divider sump 33. The sump 33 has a plurality of outlets l8 and 20,-two being shown by way of example. The outlet |8 drains into the uppermost pan 21, and the outlet 2|] drains into a lower but not lowermost one of the pans 21. Each outlet I8 and 20 serves three pans in the present example. It is to be understood that more outlets may be provided and that these may serve aliquot numbers of pans, according to design requirements.

The outlets l8 and 20 are in communication with lateral chambers 22 and 24 respectively. These chambers 22 and 24 communicate with the main central chamber 26 by means of slots 28 and 30 (see also Figs. 3 and 4). Theseslots 28 and 30 insure proper flow of the water to the V pan and also delivers overflow to the next pan beneath. The lower outlet of the overflow pipe extends adjacent to the liquid level 31 in the said next pan, thus effecting quiet flow. The last overflow pipe 35 in a given series delivers water to waste.

The waste pipe from the first series of pans which are fed by the outlet I8 is designated at numeral 32, the same feedingto a waste piai 34 which in turn drips into a funnel 36. The f nel 36 is connected to a drain pipe 38, which has an open ended breather pipe 48 to insure proper drainage. The similar outlet to drain from the last of the second series of pans is designated by numeral 42 which also feeds into said funnel 36.

Water entering the pipe 29 flows out of the nozzle 8| and after being divided flows through the pipes l8 and 2 0 to the uppermost pan 2'! from whence it overflows and is delivered to the second pan below and thus proceeds in parallel from pan to pan until the overflow is'reached. Thus it will be seen that no valves are provided It will be understood that the water cools as it flows down and that the rate of evaporation decreases with cooling. Hence it is desirable to provide a multiple cas- 'cade as by the supply of warm water from the auxiliary pipe 20. This method of introducing the water is in contradistinction to introducing at one point all of the warm water it is desired to supply, that is, a single long cascade.

The overflow pipe 35 is in staggered relationship with respect to the ends of the successive pans. The overflow pipe 35 between a given pair of pans is in a corner of said pair diagonally opposite to the overflow pipe of the next pair.

Thus, reading from top to bottom (Fig. l) the uppermost pan and the second one down have an overflow pipe 35 in a given corner. The sec ond pan down and the third pan down have an overflow pipe 35 in the diagonally opposite corner and so on down through the device. The purpose of this arrangement is to provide as great a distance of flow as possible for the water so that there is no short circuiting in said flow. This insures a minimum of stagnation and maxi mum distance of circulation, both of which are conducive to maximum evaporation.

It will be noted from Fig. 1 that the pipe I8 is directed tangentially along the edge of a first tray 21 which causes a circulating movement of the water around the edge of the tray, thereby providing for agitation of water and consequently increasing the rate of evaporation.

Heating of the water supply is accomplished by leading the pipe 54 into communication with a heating chamber 44 of the domestic heating plant 3 (Fig. 6). In the furnace is a coil or the like 4| which, by means to be described, is in communication with the domestic cold water pipe 5. The connection is shown at numeral 43. The connection 43 constitutes a stop valve 46 which may be entirely opened or closed and a variable control valve 48 by means of which adjustable throttling of the flow is effected. No throttling of flow of hot water is effected, but only throttling of the flow of cold water. Thus are avoided all deleterious thermostatic variations on the valve opening by changing hot water temperatures. After the water passes the throttle valve 48, it is thereafter heated. It is not subsequently subjected to control by a valve. Hence, after passing said valve 48, the water has a free flow to the drain and deleterious increase in pressure is prevented. This constitutes a safety feature of the present invention and also results in positively continuous operation.

The details of the piping are as follows:

From valve 48, a pipe 50 leads to the bottom of a tempering tank 52'. The inlet end 54 of the coil 4| is also attached to the bottom of the tank 52. Theoutlet end 56 of the coil 4| is re-attached to the top of the tank 52. The said inlet pipe 29 for .the unit I enters the top of the tank 52 and has its indrawing end 58 located at a short distance below the normal water level 60 in said tank 52. One of. the advantages of the invention is that internal air from pipe 4| is projected into the tank 52 at a point where it is impossible for itto be delivered to the pipe 29. The air separates out on the top of the tank 52 and forms a column of closure air for steadying flow through the system.

As shown in Fig. 8, a cylindric screen 83 surrounds the open end portion of the pipe 29 but the lower end of the screen is also open. Furthermore, the inlet end of the pipe 29 has an opening 62 spaced from the open end 64 thereof. The purpose of this construction is to filter the major portion of the water which enters said opening 64. It will be understood that hot water will position itself at thetop of the tank and tend to flow through the screen downwardly around the pipe 29 to enter the opening 64, only a small portion normally passing through the 'open lower end of the screen 83. However, if and when the screen 83 clogs and/or corrodes at the upper regions thereof, the lower ends thereof will continue to filter water as it enters the opening 64.

Finally, if the screen 83 becomes entirely'clogged, the free, open lower end 66 will insure passage 'of water to the pipe 29, although under such conditions filtering is not accomplished. However, the apparatus is not shut down. Material that falls from the screen 83 descends to the bottom of the tank 52 and may be drained off at a drain plug 89. The pipe 54 enters the tank 52 at a level somewhat above the bottom, whereby the bottom of the tank 52 constitutes a sump for such steamed matter.

The opening 62 serves to effect an air release, the operation of which may be explained as follows: Previously dissolved air in the-water is released and gathers at the top of the tank, as indicated at numeral 58. As the amount of air increases, the water level 69 is depressed. If the water level 59 is depressed until the mouth 64 of the pipe 29 is reached, an undesirable gurgling sound and spurting action occurs. By introducing the opening 82, the movement of the level 59 down to the pipe opening 64 is prevented, because the air escapes from the opening 62 and prevents further building up of the trapped air supply. Thus the level 69 never reaches the inlet 64. The undesirable gurgling sound and spurting action does not occur by way of the opening 62.

The coil 4| is composed of copper pipe and therefore is bendable into any desired relationship with respect to the products of combustion.

The tank 52 is not of the nature of an ordinary storage tank, but comprises a tempering and safety tank, and in order to understand its effect, certain dimensions will be described. The pipe 59 is a three-eighths inch pipe. The tank 52 is 42 inches long and 6 inches in diameter. The pipe 54 is a half-inch pipe. The coil 4| is a seveneighths inch pipe. The pipe 55 is one-half inch in diameter and the pipe 29 is three-eighths inch in diameter. The tank 52 holds four and seveneighths gallons.

Assuming the tank 52 to be full, water flowing in the relatively small pipe 50 proceeds to the bottom of the tank 52 at a rapid rate. It passes up the pipe 54 and enters the coil 4| and back into the tank 52 at the upper end thereof. The amount of heated water at the upper end of the tank 52 under a given rate of flow and firing builds downwardly to a certain point in the tank, and will maintain a certain location for the temperature gradient. If the rate of heating increases with a given water flow, the amount of hot water will further build down in the tank 52 and if the heating decreases the lower level of the hot water will recede or rise upwardly. The purpose of the tank 52 is to allow for the fluctuations in hot water level without permitting the total mass of water to reach the boiling point or get too hot and at the same time to insure that the mouth 64 of the pipe 29 is always within water of approximately the correct temperature ior proper evaporation in unit I. Stated otherwise, the tank provides for a continuous flow of hot water to be delivered to the pipe 29 when the furnace is operating at variable rates. Under high heating rates it also prevents the temperature of the hot water from building up to a point'where it becomes dangerous or at which spurting action may occur due to steaming in the lines.

The coil 4| being of a large diameter, permits of slow flow therethrough and ample absorption of heat. The small pipe 29 effects quick delivery of the water to the humidifier unit I, before the same can cool sufficiently to become valueless. It should be understood that there is no circulation through the coil 4| and tank 52 as a closed circuit. Circulation is from pipe 50 through the boting the tank 52 to be full.

tom of tank'52 to' and through pipes 54, 4|, 56, tank 52 and to the pipe 29, then to the unit Water passes through pipe 54 at a reduced rate of speed and enters coil 4|. Because of increase in size of coil 4| the water flow 13 again reduced in speed so as to pick up ample heat while traveling through a given length of coil. The temperature of the Water delivered from coil 4| to lead 55 is governed by its proximity to the combustion means of the furnace. It is intended to be so placed that Water delivered to the tank is just below boiling when intermittent heating means is employed and just below boiling when coal or coke is under draft. Coal or coke temperatures are expected to vary. If the amount of hot water delivered to the tank is greater than the flow from the tank to the unit, then it can build down in the tank 52. Stated otherwise the system provides for a small flow of water sufiiciently hot for 'eiiective evaporation in the unit without building down to the bottom of the tank and the circulation between coil 4| and tank 52. This is the difference between this system and the ordinary storage tank system.

The operation of the device is as follows, assum- The stop valve 46 is opened wide. The valve 48 is adjusted so that the fiow is proper, as determined by suitable tests. The rate of flow will be constant even with small valve openings, because the valve is not subjected to variation in temperature of hot water.

Heated water flows from the pipe 56 and into the tank 52. The mass of hot water at the top of the tank 52 builds downwardly and passes to pipe 29. The hot water then fiows up the pipe 29, substantially all of it having passed through the screen 93 and having been filtered. If the filter is entirely closed, the Water passes through the opening 66 in the filter.

The hot water flows up the pipe 29 and up one side of the unit I. Then it proceeds around the arcuate portion of pipe M to prevent condensation, or to effect rte-evaporation of any possible condensate at the edge 8 of the top. At the other side of the unit the water flows into the divider where it is properly divided to flow through the pipes I8 and 2B. The separated flow of hot water cascades through the respective upper and lower sets of pans. Finally the cascaded stream of water that has not evaporated flows through pipes 34 and 42 and converges in pipe 38 to fiow to the drain.

The humidified and heated air rises in convection currents C and D which are deflected outwardly by the trays 21. The current C rising through the top opening 6 induces the down curling cold air current A which deflects the current D where it passes the upper tray 2'! and thus protects said top from condensation. The relatively dry air-currents A become humidified currents when they reach C inasmuch as they pick up moisture from the top tray.

It will be understood that the opening 5 in the cover is in the present embodiment small enough so that most of the convection of humidified air is effected through the opening 9 in the grill 1.

In view of the above, it will be seen that the several objects of the invention are achieved and other advantageous results attained.

As many changes could be made in carrying out the above constructions without departing from the scope of the invention, it is intended that all matter contained in the above description or shown in the accompanying drawings shall be interpreted as illustrative and not in a limiting sense.

We claim:

1. In a humidifier, an evaporating unit, means forleading hot water into said unit and past portions of the unit which would otherwise be subjected to condensation, said water being released from the means of leading it in and for purposes of evaporation after having passed said regions.

2. A humidifier comprising an evaporating unit, a top for said unit, a catch drip rail associated with the top for receiving any condensate that may form, and means for leading hot water to the unit, said means being placed adjacent to said drip rail, whereby initial condensation is miniforming a wall of" the evaporating unit, a cover for the unit, said cover having an opening for inducing upward convection of some of said humidified air passing through said opening, the remainder of said humidified air being forced to pass through the grill, unhumidified air currents being drawn about the cover to deflect therefrom convection currents from the grill.

4. In a humidifier, an evaporating unit, sets of containers for evaporating liquid therein, inlet means for leading hot water to the unit, an open divider adapted to receive fluid by gravity from the inlet means, a plurality of gravity feed lines leading from said divider to respective sets of conchamber having a plurality of overflow openings.

ROBERT G. YOST. CYRIL G. SCHELLY.

tain ers, said divider comprising a main supply 15 

